EW is thrilled to debut the striking cover below, designed by Bo Feng Lin.
I have a lot of cousins, including some who I’m really close to.
We text all the time," she explains.
Credit: Courtesy Alexis Daria
“That was the bond I was going for.
Read on below the cover.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Your last series took place in the world of dancing reality television.
William Morrow
This one is taking us into the world of telenovelas and streaming television.
Where did this idea come from?
ALEXIS DARIA:I first got the idea to write about three cousins.
I wasn’t sure what that was going to look like.
That’s how I ended up with Jasmine as this actress who comes back home to her hometown.
Because for some of us, New York City is a hometown.
Those are the parts that stay with me.
So I wanted something that had that celebrity aspect but [was] also very grounded in family.
Or what inspired that particular story line?
That’s one of my favorite tropes.
You have entered this Hollywood world where tabloid drama is a big part of the conflict.
Did you do a lot of research in that regard or were you inspired by certain real-life stars?
There’s definitely a lot of real-life inspiration there.
I did do a lot of research on this when I was working on The Dance Off series.
It’s one of those things that fascinates me.
In terms of celebrity gossip, I think it’s the same.
Being on this huge stage like that for something you don’t want to be out there?
That was a big inspiration.
The telenovela aspect of course brings to mindJane the Virgin,which is mentioned in the book’s blurb.
Are there parallels in their stories?
I drew the idea from that of showing them doing a telenovela on the page.
It was the family elements ofJane the Virginthat brought me to that too.
And maybe some other things in terms of secrets.
You Had Me at Holais such a fun, playful title did you have that early on?
No, not at all.
I probably sent in about 100 titles as possibilities.
So in all of my files, it’s Project Telenovela.
In this case, my editor actually suggested it.
Can we expect other titles in the series to be twists on rom-com quotes?
I am certainly going to try.
I’ve got a long list of ones that didn’t make it on for this one.
Some others that are already in the works for book two.
It’s going to be probably a similar titling convention.
I love Broadway musicals.
There were a few shows that I saw this year that had a show within a show.
Those kind of things really inspire me a lot.
I sawKiss Me KateandMoulin Rouge!
How they express that to the audience was definitely something I looked at.
I also did a ton of research about television production in New York City.
Unfortunately, almost none of it made into the book but it’s really fascinating stuff.
If people want to look up the history of Kaufman Astoria studios in Queens.
There were some shows I looked at just to get a sense of the show they’re on.
I looked atYoungerandThe Bold jot down,Ugly Betty,just to see how they show the workplace environment.
But anything that has a show within a show is my jam.
This cover is also giving me life.
It’s just so gorgeous.
I just love his work.
I put it on my vision board.
That is what I want.
I have degrees in fine art and graphic design.
So I did my previous covers.
So I wanted someone who was a better illustrator than I am.
That’s pretty close to how the final product came out.
I’m over the moon about it.
I love the cover so much.
Was the color scheme part of that PowerPoint presentation?
The color scheme was kind of in there.
What can I say?
I pretty much always had Adam Rodriguez in mind with Ashton.
And then Cierra Ramirez from the FreeformThe FostersandGood Trouble.
I had them in mind.
If I were casting, I think their age difference is probably a little too great.
But in terms of the look that’s where I was.
